No matter how civilized the world gets to be, there are certain acts that will forever be regarded as immoral. Such is the case of the South African engineer Errol Musk who hit the airwaves after he sexually defiled his stepdaughter, fathering a child with her in the process. That notwithstanding, the brilliant engineer has a record of several extramarital affairs behind him which has further strained his relationship with his children especially his son Elon Musk who deemed it fit to refer to his dad as a terrible human being.
Despite his disreputable lifestyle, Errol Musk is still recognized worldwide as a skilled pilot, competent sailor and brilliant engineer. More important is the fact that he is the father of Elon Musk, a famed engineer, technology entrepreneur as well as the founder of SpaceX, Neuralink, ‘Tesla, Inc, and co-founder of PayPal. This article will take us through his scandalous personal life which led to his estranged relationship with his children.
Who is Errol Musk
Errol Musk is the offspring of a union between a South African father – Walter Henry James and a British mother – Cora Amelia Robinson. He was born in 1946, with the given name of Errol Graham Musk in Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa and grew up alongside a brother Michael James.
His earliest education was achieved at Waterkloof House Preparatory School after which he joined Bryanston High School before going on to graduate from Pretoria Boys High School. In 1989, against his father’s wish, the young Errol migrated to Canada at age 17 to attend the Queen’s University and in so doing, he sidestepped the obligatory service in the South African military by all citizens. 1992 saw him at the University of Pennsylvania, studying business and physics and after he bagged an undergraduate degree in economics, he went ahead to acquire a second BSC in physics. When he left Pennsylvania, Errol Musk went in pursuit of a Ph.D. in energy physics at Stanford University in California. Coincidentally, it was that time of the internet boom which resulted in his dropping out of Stanford after a couple of days to join the moving train and in no time at all, he launched his debut company known as Zip2 Corporation.
By the time he was 30, Errol Musk was already a married man, in 1970, he exchanged marriage vows with his high school girlfriend – Maye Haldeman – Canadian lady who earned a living as a model and dietitian. The next year, precisely on the 28th of June 1971, the duo welcomed their first child, a son named Elon Musk, after one year, Elon became a brother to Kimbal and they were both joined by Tosca – their sister in 1974. While Tosca went into movie directing and producing, Kimbal has made a name as an entrepreneur, a restaurateur, and a philanthropist.
Errol Musk and his first wife Maye officially divorced in 1979 following which he embarked on a second marriage with Heide-Mari a widow with three children. Errol went on to have two more daughters with her namely Asha “Rose” Musk and Alexandra “Ali” Musk.
While the wealth was pumping in, Errol Musk made some really huge acquisitions which include the likes of a private jet, yachts, and luxurious homes. He became the owner of many mines as well as several other natural resources and infrastructure. The famed engineer spent most of his leisure hours at some of the posh homes he acquired, especially the one in Waterkloof – a classy neighborhood of Pretoria, He retired at an early age and currently spends his time on travels.
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Why Did Elon Musk Call Him a Terrible Human Being?
Errol Musk has always had a strained relationship with his family, especially his first son Elon who has referred to his dad as a terrible human being in several interviews. The bad blood between father and son took-off after the end of Errol’s first marriage, however, the situation worsened with his approach to life and scandals but the stroke that broke the camel’s back was his unpalatable revelation about fathering the child of his stepdaughter Jana Bezuidenhout.
One would be right to think that the fact that Errol became Jana’s stepfather when she was four would deter the famed engineer from seeing her as anything more than his child who should be entitled to his protection. Errol initially kept their affair a dirty secret but later decided to go public with the information and the revelation that Jana’s child Elliot Rush who was formally believed to be fathered by her ex-boyfriend was actually Errol Musk’s son. He later tried to justify his dastardly act by claiming that he never saw Jana as a stepdaughter as she grew outside the family. The scandalous revelation brought an end to Errol’s 18-year-old marriage with Jana’s mum.
Errol Musk’s sins don’t just end with his stepdaughter, he is a diehard philanderer, keeping a string of mistresses, he was even slammed with a criminal charge once and allegedly fired back at some robbers who tried to rob his house, killing three in the process – he latter got a clean chit. Even with all his bad feelings towards his father, Elon still feels pity for his dad; he believes that the old man is just lonely and sad.
